Men's Water Polo

Water Polo Takes Three of Four at MIT Invite

Sep 17, 2008

Sept. 15, 2008

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. &ndash; The MIT men&rsquo;s water polo team earned its first three wins of the season as the Engineers welcomed six intercollegiate and two club teams to the Zesiger Pool for the annual MIT Invitational. Ranked No. 5 in Division III by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), MIT defeated Washington &amp; Jefferson, 17-6, Boston College, 15-7, and Boston University, 15-3. Tech&rsquo;s only blemish over the weekend came at the hands of nationally-ranked Cal Baptist, 13-10.

The Engineers (3-4) kicked off their tournament Friday night versus Washington &amp; Jefferson. MIT broke the game open early, mounting a 7-1 advantage after one period. Mark Artz led the scoring attack for Tech with five goals. Freshman goalkeeper Columbus Leonard was impressive in net, stopping 11 shots while holding the Presidents to just six goals.

MIT returned to the pool Saturday night as the club team from Boston College attempted to derail the host squad. The Eagles kept it close through the first two frames, trailing just 6-4 at the half, but the Engineers responded in the second, tallying nine goals in the final 16 minutes to win 15-7. Senior Mike Smith-Bronstein was the high-scorer for the match with five goals, while junior Devin Lewis contributed four. Leonard was solid once again, totaling nine saves for the contest.

Ranked 20th in the CWPA national poll, Cal Baptist would provide a stiff test for the MIT squad. The Engineers hung close early on, knotting the game at four on a goal by sophomore John Preis 30 seconds into the second period. After trailing by three at the half, Tech would get as close as 11-10 with just under four minutes remaining, before finally falling 13-10.

In their final game of the weekend, MIT took on Boston University Sunday afternoon. The Engineers jumped on the Terriers early, opening up a 10-0 lead after one period, and did not look back, winning 15-3. Preis led the scoring with three goals. Rob Kalaworosky, Nick Souza, Brett Boval, and Nikola Otasevic each contributed a pair of scores.

MIT will be back in the Zesiger Pool on Thursday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m. as they welcome the Harvard Crimson. The two Cambridge schools have met 86 times in their history, more than any other Tech opponent, with Harvard holding a 68-18 advantage.